The Day's All-Area Football Player of the Year: Ledyard's JoJo Shumaker
Ledyard - There is a reason that program founder Bill Mignault preferred the play called "Tailback Jet." That's because the tailback position has a prominent place in Ledyard High School lore and legend.
And where JoJo Shumaker belongs in the pantheon is a matter of opinion. There's just no denying he's not far down the list.
Shumaker, The Day's 2014 All-Area Football Player of the Year, accomplished the following:
He established the career scoring record - in one season - at Ledyard with 274 points, according to program historian Matt Edwards. Shumaker's senior year eclipsed the career totals of Bydrow Williams (268 points), Tim McNeil (266), Jon Paul (246), Angelo Ortiz (243), Alex Manwaring (236) and the late Mike Daggett (230). That's a list of some of the best players in program history.
Shumaker amassed 410 points in his career.
He scored 62 rushing touchdowns in his career, 40 this season, breaking McNeil's single-season mark of 37 set in the championship season of 2007.
Additional numbers which will certainly impact the state sports record book:
Touchdowns in a season, 45; touchdowns in a career, 67; rushing yards in a season, 2,341 and rushing yards in a career, 4,409.
"I think it's pretty clear the impact he had on us," Ledyard coach Jim Buonocore said of his All-Eastern Connecticut Conference and all-state running back, who led the Colonels to a 12-1 season, division title and berth in the program's fourth state title game in the last eight years.
And yet amid all the numbers, Shumaker's impact on the Colonels went beyond any yard he gained.
The passion for his school and program might have been unmatched, even amid the familial rhythms Buonocore has built.
While everyone else was celebrating the victory in the state semifinals earlier this month, Shumaker stood alone and couldn't control his emotions. He realized at that moment he had just played his final game on Bill Mignault Field.
"It speaks to his character and the kind of person he is," Buonocore said.
Shumaker: "Playing here meant a lot to me. This is my family."
Shumaker, always a Colonel, wasn't always a Colonel. Family considerations forced him to leave the program in the middle of his sophomore season.
"He was 15 years old, a sophomore, and his first game as a varsity player, he ran for over 200 yards and I said, 'Man, we have something special here,'" Buonocore said. "But I knew he had some personal things going on. He came to me about a week prior to him going back. He left on a Wednesday. That's it, he was gone."
Shumaker returned in June of that year, much to Buonocore's delight. Now he has UMass, Villanova, Southern Connecticut and Delaware State interested.
Shumaker's last two seasons have been exemplary.
And he'll never be forgotten, if for no other reason than his caricature hangs in Buonocore's office, following an honor as the Channel 3 Friday Night Football Player of the Week from a week this season.
"I think it looks pretty good," Shumaker said. "But I don't know about that hairline."
m.dimauro@theday.com
Twitter: @BCgenius
The Day's 2014 All-Area Football Team
Player of the Year - JoJo Shumaker (Ledyard)
Offense
Quarterback - Ty Ebdon (Ledyard)
Running back - Khaleed Exum-Strong (NFA), Chase Speller (Waterford)
Wide receiver - Jelani Lucas (New London), Phyllip Thomas (Ledyard)
Tight end - Jon McCray (Montville)
Line - Dwayne Brown (Ledyard), J'Von Brown (NFA), Noah Brown (NFA), Tyler Cheverier (Valley Regional/Old Lyme), Kevin Murtha (Montville)
Kicker - Garrett Burdick (New London)
Special teams - River Thomas (Ledyard)
Utility - Jake Mangual (Waterford)
Defense
Line - Darren D'Amico (Waterford), J. Hunter Roman (New London), Hunter Waido (East Lyme)
Linebacker - Justin Cheverier (Valley Regional/Old Lyme), Leo Clinton (Ledyard), Dan Figuenick (Valley Regional/Old Lyme), Jack Riordan (Stonington), Rashan Young (Ledyard)
Defensive back - Troy Gray (New London), Chris Jean-Pierre (Valley Regional/Old Lyme), Jawaun Johnson (NFA)
Punter - Luke Saccone (Ledyard)
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